Chapter Three

I had caught up to the three of them, but I stayed at a distance, around five feet away from Lucas. It was a silent walk. Zeke was the one to set the pace and we all kept it at that, letting him guide us through the wilderness to where we hoped would take us back to our teacher.

Nevaeh was back on her phone, doing whatever it was she usually does. Despite never taking her eyes away from her screen, she was surprisingly very good at determining where and where not to step, and she was able to walk at an even speed along with the rest of us.

Lucas had discovered a way to be quiet. He found an interest in the trees and the grass. He also looked up at the sky quite frequently, like he was trying to see through the layers of leaves and branches in order to observe the blue and cloudy sky behind it.

Zeke seemed to have a bit of a aggression in his step, putting a lot of force into his walk. It almost appeared like her was trying to march. I wondered if he was still mad at me, because the thought of that made me upset to my stomach. I didn't want to have someone made at my, never mind my camping partner. Plus, I thought it would be rather nice to not be hated by all your group members. It would probably make life much easier.

I wasn't exactly keeping track of the time, but after around what had felt like maybe thirty minutes, Lucas was the first to speak out since Zeke's outlash.

"You don't have to, to listen to me or anything, and I'm not sure if right now is the best time to say anything," The small boy stuttered. "But, when I was little, my-my dad always said if you're lost you should stay where you are, because whoever lost you will most likely retrace their steps when they go looking or you."

Zeke didn't turn around and Nevaeh never brought her head up from her device, but Zeke slowed our pace to a stop. The four of us stood around, and well all looked to Zeke to say something.

"I don't think we should head back, because we'll most likely get even more lost so let's just hang out here and set up before it gets dark out."

His instructions were subtle and light. He then proceeded to take a seat on a log where he began fidgeting with his fingers. I took that as a sign he no longer wanted to be the one in control.

I was reluctant to take charge again, in fear that Zeke may get mad at me. But seeing as no one protested my leadership, I took that as green light. I took a few steps forward so I was in view of them all before dropping my backpack to the floor.

"Alright guys," I tried again, this time in a more gentle, less controlling tone. "I guess this is where we're setting up camp fro now, so you guys can set your things down and set up the tent and roll out your sleeping bags. I'll start a fire while we wait for the sun to set."

I let my bag fall from my shoulder. Lucas and Nevaeh had retrieved the tent from Zeke, and I watched them unbox the tent and unravel all the pieces, placing the fly aside. It looked like a puzzle, the way they had laid it out, but they were surprisingly good at it. No one had faulted, and they moved without hesitation and ease, sliding in the poles and pegs.

I turned away to look for some kidling, finding dead leaves and twigs on the ground. I collected a couple handful, making a pile a few feet away from where they had set up the tent. Once I decided I had more than enough to start a fire, I went over to look for bigger branches and wood for when the fire got bigger. I grabbed some branches in my hands and brought it back to my fire-to-be.

I approached Nevaeh and Lucas who had the door to the tent wide opened, so I could see them rolling our everyone's sleeping bags, and arranging them in a direction which will enable everyone to fit. The inside of the four person tent was quite snug, with just enough room for four sleeping bodies. It wasn't large enough for us to simply hang out inside.

"Do you have the matches?" I peeked my head inside. Nevaeh looked up and nodded.

"You can get them over there, they're in my bag." She pointed to her large backpack, which was piled together with everyone else's. I gave mer a thanks and strode over to her belongings.

I opened the her back and started digging through to find the matches. It was heavily packed, with camping supplies but personal items as well. She had various outfits to choose from and a load of makeup hidden neatly inside. I ignored those items and went over the things she brought, which was quite a bit. I finally found the matches, and the small box had been buried near the bottom of her bag, camouflaged by the rest of her things.

I returned to my pile of twigs, and started forming a small tipi, hiding the birch bark inside. I lit a match and touched the birch, igniting the piece of wood. I watched the flames grow as they spread inside the mini tipi i made. The insides started to catch the outside, burning the small twigs.

Larger pieces of wood were dumped beside me, and I looked up to see Zeke walking away. I looked between him and the wood, before jumping up after him.

"Where did you get that wood?" I asked, coming up from behind him. He nodded his chin in the direction go his hand, which was carrying a miniature axe.

"Just because you're the only one who obviously wants to be here doesn't mean that the rest of us are completely helpless." I heard him mutter. I frowned, holding my hands together.

"Oh," I said, letting my voice trail. I didn't know what to say to that, so I decided the best decision would to not say anything at all.

He stopped at a dead tree which already had multiple cuts and exposed insides, which was where he had presumably gotten his wood from.

"I'll get some wood," He said quietly, keeping his eyes on his work. "You should get back to creating that perfect fire using your camping expertise."

I clicked my tongue and nodded. "Yep, ah, sounds good. I'll get back to that."

"Wait," He said, grabbing a few logs from his feet. "Take this back with you. Be careful, they're heavy."

He handed them to me and I wrapped my arms around the wood. "Well, I think I've got it."

He rolled his eyes. "Congrats, tough girl." He responded sarcastically.

I grinned at his annoyance and stalled back over to my mini fire, which was starting to burn out. In order to keep it alive, I added the wood that Zeke had chopped for me.

Soon enough, the sun had set, the fire was hot, and everything was set up and ready for the night. Our tent had been assembled perfectly, credit towards Nevaeh and Lucas. We we had arranged the four mini stools around the camp fire for the four of us to sit.

Once all the dirty work had been completed, Nevaeh went back to her phone, completely removing herself from our reality and placing herself into her own digital one.

I had gotten taken some water from the plastic bottles an boiled it to make some pasta. It turned out much better than I had thought, to be honest. The water managed to boil within a reasonable amount of time and I used the can opener we had brought to open ourselves a can of tomato sauce.

By sunset, we were able to eat out first meal made in the wilderness so far this trip. As terrifying as it was to be without teacher guidance and supervision, it made me feel quite rebellious. Although, we very much did not plan to fall down that hill.

Our plain meal was eaten in silence. No one had much to say, as we all focused on the food. I wanted to start a conversation, but I wasn't quite sure what to say or how to begin, especially since I wasn't sure if anyone was still mad at me.

"So..." I started, tossing my paper plate into the fire like the rest of my group. "Does anyone have any stories that are campfire worthy?"

Everyone was quiet. There was an awkward pause before Lucas decided to speak up. "Um, well, o-one time i bought a-a guinea pig."

"Oh, you did?" I asked, trying to speak with as much enthusiasm possible.

"Y-yeah," Lucas nodded, pursing his lips and bringing his hands together. "One day I came home from school and he wasn't moving. It was kind of funny, because I thought him how to do that."

I didn't question how you could train a guinea pig to do such a trick, but I nodded encouragingly. "Oh really? Was he playing dead?"

"No, he actually was dead."

I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. Instead I just nodded along, choosing not to ask push that any further.

"What was your guinea pig's name?"I decided to ask.

"His name was Charles." Lucas nodded, pursing his lips and bringing his hands together.

"Well," I said awkwardly. "That's a nice name."

"Yeah," Lucas continued. "His na-name is Charles Jr, named after my grandpapa, Charles Sr."

"That's very sweet of you," I nodded and avoided his eyes. "Does anyone else have a story they'd like to share?"

Nevaeh shook her head and got up from where she sat, keeping her eyes on her phone as she walked back to the tent. We all sat in silence, listening to the zipper as she zipped shut the door.

"Unfortunately<" Zeke said. "I don't have any stories to tell. I think Lucas' was enough to last us for the night."

We all nodded in agreement, and he pressed on his knees as he stood up and dusted off his pants.

"Well I'm going to head to bed before I get eaten alive, i'll see you guys later. Good night."

Lucas hopped up to his feet. "Uh, yeah. I will too. Have a good night, Trinity."

I nodded. "Alright, I'll wait here until the fire dies."

I watched as the retreated to the tent a few feet away, Lucas right on Zeke's tail. I clicked my tongue. I supposed it was just me and the fire.

I watched the flames. They did this weird wave, where one minute they were moving side to side gently and then the next they'd be waving out of control. They more I watched, the more the fire stated to resemble space weather and northern lights. The flames glided and swayed in a similar pattern.

I sighed and looked up. It's not like I could see anything. The trees covered the sky, so there stars weren't in view. I sort of wished they were, and maybe I could try to see what Lucas saw.

I thought about the few arguments I had today. They made me frustrated to even think about. I was doing what I thought was right, and taking charge is the right thing to do if no one else is willing to do it. How could Zeke complain about me giving directions if he didn't even want to do it.

As much as I hated to admit it, but I was slightly jealous of Zeke. I was jealous of how everyone fell into line behind him as if it had been done hundreds of times. He always had the natural potential to be a leader, but he chose not to.

I stood up and grabbed the long stick I had been using to poke the fire. I used the tip to play with the coals and spread everything apart then I grabbed my water bottle and poured half of the water onto the fire. The smoke instantly filled my lungs and I coughed, waving it away.

I put my stuff away in my bag before making my way over to the tent, where I would spend my night cramped with three other people.